Wed, Sep 25 2019, 8:33 AM
One could argue that house flippers could make less if they buy the house for more than they expected, costs were more than anticipated, or the sales ...
Wed, Sep 25 2019, 8:06 AM
Although changes in mortgage rates were gradual and mixed during the week ended September 20, mortgage volume moved sharply lower. Refinancing was esp...
Tue, Sep 24 2019, 5:38 PM
Today was a victory for the bond market in general, but a relatively hollow one for MBS. Gains were modest for both Treasuries and MBS at first, ...
Tue, Sep 24 2019, 3:11 PM
Mortgage rates managed to hold on to the improvements seen yesterday. This was far from a certainty yesterday afternoon as the underlying bond market ...
Tue, Sep 24 2019, 10:18 AM
Both the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller indices and the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA's) House Price Index (HPI) were released on Tuesday. The Ca...
Tue, Sep 24 2019, 9:35 AM
In the day just passed, bonds started out strong with help from exceptionally weak economic data in Europe. German manufacturing, in particular, cont...
Tue, Sep 24 2019, 8:58 AM
What does the AFL-CIO have in common with Zillow? Both own mortgage companies. Think partnerships and “strategic alliances” are against the rules? Thi...
Mon, Sep 23 2019, 6:19 PM
Today was largely the story of troublingly weak econ data prompting an rally to the best levels of the day for bond markets. The biggest move came i...
Mon, Sep 23 2019, 5:58 PM
Foreclosure starts hit an 18-year low in August and were down 23 percent compared to the previous August. Black Knight, in its First Look at August lo...
Mon, Sep 23 2019, 5:41 PM
Mortgage rates added to last week's friendly rebound with their best single-day drop in more than a month today. Weak economic data in Europe and tepi...
Mon, Sep 23 2019, 11:46 AM
The good news from a new National Association of Realtors® (NAR) survey is that a large majority of respondents think it is a good time to buy a home....
Mon, Sep 23 2019, 10:11 AM
In the week just passed, the bond market underwent a nice correction after the previous week pushed yields higher at the fastest pace in years. To pu...
Mon, Sep 23 2019, 9:04 AM
Call it a comfortable barge or a luxury water house, thanks to Rudy D. for sending along this story about a $5.5 million floating home in Florida . Go...
Fri, Sep 20 2019, 6:15 PM
Last week brought the pain. It was the worst single week for the bond market (if we count MBS) since 2013. Although this week won't break any record...
Fri, Sep 20 2019, 5:59 PM
What a difference a week makes! At the end of last week, things were pretty grim, with mortgage rates having just seen their worst single week since 2...
Fri, Sep 20 2019, 11:22 AM
Total home equity, not surprisingly, increased again in the second quarter of the year. CoreLogic's quarterly Homeowner Equity Insights report, which ...
Fri, Sep 20 2019, 10:14 AM
In the day just passed, bonds trading was exceptionally calm in the wake of Wednesday's Fed day. As I mentioned in the recap, it was one of the least...
Fri, Sep 20 2019, 8:36 AM
A mile is 5,280 feet. And Central Park Tower on West 57th St. in Manhattan now stands at 1,550 feet, about a third of a mile. I mention this because i...
Fri, Sep 20 2019, 8:24 AM
Thirty-year mortgage loans closed in August carried an average interest rate of 4.07 percent according to Ellie Mae's Origination Insight Report. Rate...
Thu, Sep 19 2019, 5:45 PM
Relative to the expectation for yesterday's Fed events to cause volatility, the movement we've seen in the bond market has been fairly pitiful in re...
Thu, Sep 19 2019, 4:23 PM
Here is exactly what yesterday's Fed rate cut did to mortgage rates: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! No Fed rate cut (or hike) will EVER do ANYTHING directly to m...
Thu, Sep 19 2019, 11:17 AM
While the increase wasn't as strong as in July, last month's existing home sales posted a second straight month of gains and, as previously, the Natio...
Thu, Sep 19 2019, 9:16 AM
In the day just passed, the bond market finally got a chance to sink its teeth into the much-anticipated Fed announcement/forecasts/press conference. ...
Thu, Sep 19 2019, 8:52 AM
The residential lending industry continues to evolve. Lenders are coming and going, moving in and out of business channels. (The latest example being ...
Thu, Sep 19 2019, 8:38 AM
Fannie Mae says consumer spending will continue to support the economy. The company's Economic Summary for September cites increases in auto and retai...
Wed, Sep 18 2019, 5:49 PM
As far as Fed days go--especially the kind where we get updated economic projections--today's example was pretty damn uneventful. These things happen...
Wed, Sep 18 2019, 4:54 PM
One of the greatest potential sources of confusion for prospective mortgage borrowers is the relationship between the Fed and mortgage rates. While th...
Wed, Sep 18 2019, 2:02 PM
Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in June July indicates that the labor market remains strong and that economic acti...
Wed, Sep 18 2019, 10:23 AM
August turns out to have been among the year's strongest periods for residential construction. While analysts had expected builders to shake off some ...
Wed, Sep 18 2019, 9:09 AM
In the day just passed, the bond market managed to add a 2nd day to a friendly correction--a small counterattack against the much larger corrective se...
Wed, Sep 18 2019, 8:25 AM
This morning I find myself in Pittsburgh, PA for the MBA of Southwest Pennsylvania . (Yes, I am bound for lunch at Primanti Brothers.) It turns out th...
Wed, Sep 18 2019, 8:10 AM
There was a jump in purchase mortgage applications during the week ended September 14 even as interest rates moved higher. The Mortgage Bankers Associ...
Tue, Sep 17 2019, 6:24 PM
Today saw the narrowest trading range of any day so far this month and by far the calmest day since the big September selling spree began. Drama came...
Tue, Sep 17 2019, 5:02 PM
Mortgage rates have risen rather abruptly from their long term lows 2 weeks ago and are now at the highest levels in more than a month. Fortunately, t...
Tue, Sep 17 2019, 11:20 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is anticipating an increase in new home sales in August. The organization's Builder Application Survey found th...
Tue, Sep 17 2019, 10:41 AM
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) increased 1 point in September. Along with an upward revision ...
Tue, Sep 17 2019, 9:27 AM
In the day just passed, bonds saw their first reprieve from the fairly brutal correction that has defined essentially all of September. 10yr yields d...
Tue, Sep 17 2019, 8:53 AM
As yet another example of a mortgage conference eating into a weekend, leading attendees to travel on a Friday or Saturday, the Mortgage Bankers Assoc...
Mon, Sep 16 2019, 5:26 PM
Today's key development was over-the-weekend news of drone strikes on Saudi oil assets. Iran is getting the blame, but Trump says he's not in a rush ...
Mon, Sep 16 2019, 4:48 PM
Mortgage rates closed out their worst week since 2016 on Friday as the bond market underwent a classic correction after its best month since 2011. The...
Mon, Sep 16 2019, 9:55 AM
In the week just passed, the bond market sold off at the fastest pace since the June 2013 taper tantrum. That's a relatively impressive feat at first...
Mon, Sep 16 2019, 9:05 AM
Music fans are saddened by the recent news of the deaths of Eddie Money and the Cars’ Rick Ocasek. In our industry, the news late last week that Black...
Fri, Sep 13 2019, 3:17 PM
Mortgage rates were already having their worst week since 2016 as of yesterday afternoon. Rather than help to heal some of the damage, today's bond ma...
Fri, Sep 13 2019, 10:08 AM
The California Building Industry Association (CBIA) is calling the Trump Administration tariffs the "perfect storm" for the state's already troubled h...
Fri, Sep 13 2019, 8:49 AM
Any month that starts on a Sunday contains a Friday the 13th. The superstitious sufferers of “triskaidekaphobia” try to avoid bad luck by keeping away...
Fri, Sep 13 2019, 8:36 AM
In the day just passed, bonds got our hopes up early with an initially positive reaction to the ECB announcement. We were even in the green for most ...
Thu, Sep 12 2019, 6:18 PM
10yr yields hit 1.80% today. Using the power of the MBS Live search feature, I compiled the following list to put 1.80% in context:
"I'd be looking...
Thu, Sep 12 2019, 5:21 PM
Mortgage rates didn't have a great day today, moving even higher from what were already the worst levels in a month as of yesterday afternoon. In and ...
Thu, Sep 12 2019, 11:35 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) says its Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) suffered its largest decline in eight months in August. The ...
Thu, Sep 12 2019, 9:25 AM
In the day just passed, the recent bond market selling-spree showed its first serious signs of leveling off since it began one week ago. This wasn't ...
